Tool for laying underground tubing and cable



June 6, 1967 I R. A. OWENS 3,323,313

TOOL FOR LAY INC: UNDERGROUND TUBING AND CABLE Filed March 16, 1964 INVENTOR. Robert A. Owens ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office 3,323,313 Patented June 6, 1967 3,323,313 TOOL FOR LAYING UNDERGROUND TUBING AND CABLE Robert A; Owens, Denver, Colo, assignor to Lo-Rain Aqua Duct System, Ltd, Denver, Colo., a corporation of Colorado Filed Mar. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 352,053 Claims. (Cl. 6172.6)

This invention relates to the underground laying of tubing, cable and the like and particularly to an improved tool for such purposes.

Many types of equipment have been provided heretofore for laying underground such articles as electric cable,

fluid tubing and various types of conduit. It has been an object of many of these devices to lay the article in the ground with relatively little disturbance of the surface of the ground. Some of these prior devices require that the cable or other article he carried by the laying equipment and others are arranged to draw the cable or tubing from a stationary source such as a reel mounted adjacent the starting point of the line to be laid.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved simple, rugged and easily manipulated device for the underground laying of tubing and the like.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved tool for burying articles such as cable, tubing and the like which is easy to operate and effective in the accurate laying of the article to be buried.

Briefly, in carrying out the objects of this invention a cable or tubing laying tool is constructed which comprises a tubular steel frame providing two parallel straight runners spaced a substantial distance from one another and providing an elongated carriage. The ends of the runners are bent upwardly and toward the center and are welded together to a drawpiece at the front and a downwardly extending cutting blade at the rear. The blade extends into the ground a suitable distance for the depth to which the tubing is to be laid and a generally cylindrical bore forming tool is rigidly secured to the bottom of the blade along an axis parallel to the runners and the plane of the blade.

The boring tool, although generally of cylindrical configuration, is relieved at the front in its upper portion and at the rear in its lower portion to provide two semi-cylindrical portions connected together to constitute the tool. The blade is rigidly secured to the top of the front portion and this combination provides a device which readily penetrates the ground. To facilitate the use and maintain the accuracy of the tool in hard ground a coulter may be secured to the frame to cut the ground immediately in front of the blade. The device is operated by securing a tubing or cable in the rear portion of the bore forming tool and then drawing the tool forward in the ground whereupon the cable or tubing is drawn after it and lies in the bore formed by the bore forming tool.

The features of novelty which characterizes this invention are pointed out with particularly in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will be better understood upon reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a tool embodying the invention shown in position to draw a length of tubing into the ground;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the tool shown in FIG. 1 with a portion of the frame broken out to allow shortening of the view;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the tool as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an elevation view along the line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion of the frame illustrating a modified mounting of a coulter.

Referring now to the drawing, the article burying device or tool as shown in FIG. 1 comprises an elongated frame 10 having a major central straight runner portion 11 resting on the ground 12. The forward end of the frame is turned upwardly as indicated at 13 and is provided with an attaching fixture or hitch 14 to which a line 15 may be secured for drawing the tool along the ground. The rear end is turned up as indicated at 16 and is fitted with a downwardly extending ground penetrating blade 17 having a sharp forward edge 18 which has been shown extending into the ground. At the lower end of the blade 18 there is secured an elongated ground penetrating tool 20 which is of generally cylindrical configuration and to the rear portion of which is secured a tubing or cable 21 which is to be buried in the ground.

When the tool is drawn along the ground the point or front end portion of the tool 20, which is sloping as indicated at 22, tends to go deeper into the ground and draws the tool frame down against the ground; thus the boring tool 20 is held at a fixed distance from the surface of the ground and draws the tubing 21 after it at this predetermined level. The tubing is paid out from a suitable reel or other source (not shown) and is drawn into the bore formed by the tool 20 as it moves along below the surface of the ground.

For some applications it has been found desirable to provide a coulter or cutting wheel 23 in alinement with the blade 18 and which is rotatably mounted on a pair of frame members one of which is indicated at 24 and which hold an axle 26 of the coulter 23 above the level of the frame member 11. It has been found preferable to position the frame 24 so that the coulter axle 26 will he a distance of about one-third of the length of the straight portion 11 from the rear contact zone of the portion 11 which is directly above the point 22 of the tool 20. In this position the coulter effectively opens hard ground and facilitates the movement of blade 18 and penetration of the tool 20 into the earth thereby assuring the accurate laying of the tubing.

The details of construction of the tubing or cable laying tool of FIG. 1 are more clearly shown in the remaining figures. As here shown the boring tool 20 is of a generally cylindrical configuration of uniform diameter with the forward portion, indicated at 27, relieved as indicated at 28 at the top and the lower portion, indicated at 29, relieved at 30 to provide a concave clylindrical holder within which the end of the tubing or cable 21 is secured. The relieved area of the forward portion 27 is closed by a solid wall indicated at 31 and which is inclined downwardly and forwardly to provide the penetrating forward end 22-of the tool. The wall in the illustrated embodiment has been formed by filling the forward end of the tubular cylindrical body with iron or other suitable metal. The blade 17 is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the top wall 31 in a position so that the rear of the blade is forward of a sloping surface 32 which is the closure for the rear portion of the tool 20 and is sloped from the cylindrical surface of the rear end downwardly toward the fiat wall 31.

It will now be seen that the bore forming tool 20 has a central section generally indicated at 33 which is of circular cross section and cylindrical and which connects the forward portion 27 and the rearward portion 29. The axis of the tool 20 lies parallel to the members 11 and the distance between the bottom plane of the members 11 and the point 22 determines the depth at which the tubing 21 is to be laid.

By providing the forward section as a semi-cylindrical penetrating member with the cylindrical surface downward and the rearward section 29 in opposite relationship with the cylindrical surface upward, and further by securing the blade 17 to the forward portion 27, it has been found that the tool penetrates the ground very effectively, the sharp edge 18 of the blade 17 cutting the ground in front of the rear portion 29 which then forces the earth upwardly and forms the upper half wall of a smoothwalled bore, the forward portion 27 having previously formed a smooth lower half of the bore. The successive opening and outward pressing of the earth in this manner provides a smooth bore and its formation is effected with the application of relatively little power to the device.

As clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the frame 10 is formed by two parallel straight portions 11 which are tubular members and are bent to converge and rise at their ends to form the members 13 and 16 of the frame which in turn are securely attached as by welding to the forward attaching bracket 14 and to the blade 17, respectively. As clearly shown in FIG. 2, the attaching bracket 14 is provided wtih three holes 34, 35 and 36 at spaced vertical position. The line 15 in FIG. 1 has been shown secured in the hole 35. By selecting the hole to which the line 15 is attached the position along the runners of the maximum pressure zone between the members 11 and the ground is determined and it has been found desirable to adjust the tow line position depending upon the hardness of the ground, the higher position being selected for soft ground and the low position for hard ground.

For applications in which it is desired to employ the coulter 23 the two arms 24 are welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the frame members 11 and rise upwardly and rearwardly to a position for the aXle 26 which is about one-third of the length of the straight portions 11 forward from the tip 22 of the tool 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the coulter 23 has a sharp edge 37 which is in the same plane and in line with the sharp edge 18 of the blade 17. A pair of eyes or loops 38 are connected near the bend of the portions 11 and are useful for attaching lines to lift the tool when it is attached to a vehicle.

The bore forming tool 20 is shown in an enlarged sectional view in FIG. and is made from a single piece of tubing and the forward end is relieved and then filled with iron or other suitable structural metal 40 to provide the wall 31 and sloping point 22 as well as closing the zone between the front and rearward portions and forming the downwardly sloping wall 32. The blade 17 is embedded in the metal 40 and thereby rigidly attached to the tool 20.

In FIG. 5 the tool has been shown as having a piece of plastic tubing 41 attached within the rearward section 29 by a sharp pointed lug 42 which is rigidly secured to the rear portion 29 of the cylinder and slopes downwardly and forwardly. Thus, when a piece of tubing is forced onto the lug 42 as illustrated, it is held securely in position while the tool moves forwardly through the ground.

It will be noted that the tubing which is to be inserted in the ground preferably has a diameter not greater than the internal diameter of the tool cylinder. It will therefore be seen that the bore formed by the tool, and which in the ground normally encountered is polished as the tool moves along, provides an easy, relatively low-friction path for drawing the tubing or cable along behind the tool.

With the elongated generally cylindrical tool such as the tool 20 it has been found that the proportions of the tubing or cable laying apparatus have critical dimensions such that for a predetermined depth as illustrated by the distance between the point 22. and the bottom of the frame member 11, the length of the frame member should be at least four times this distance to facilitate the stable and accurate operation of the device, and that when these dimensions are employed the tool operates easily and accurately in laying tubing and cable at a predetermined depth below the surface of the ground.

For many applications of the tubing laying tool it is desirable to mount the coulter so that it will swing out of the way should the tool encounter a rock or other hard object in the soil; for this purpose, the coulter may be mounted as indicated in FIG, 6 wherein an arm 24a corresponding to the arm 24 of the first embodiment is pivotally mounted on a shaft 45 rigidly secured to the frame 11 by welding or in any other suitable manner as indicated at 46.

The coulter is biased to a downward position by a spring 47 entering a hole in the arm 24:: as indicated at 48 and a hole in the shaft 45 as indicated at 49. A similar spring is mounted on the opposite arm of the coulter (not shown in this figure). The two springs provide sufficient pressure or torque to hold the coulter down in the soil during normal operation but, should the coulter encounter a rock or other rigid obstacle, it will ride up over it, the spring allowing the coulter to pivot about the shaft 45. A rock encountered in this manner will then be struck by the blade 17 and will be forced upwardly by the slope of the blade provided that the rock is sufficiently small. Thus small rocks or other obstacles in the path of the tool will not interrupt the operation of the tool.

While the invention has been described in connection with the specific embodiment illustrated, various changes and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is not desired that the invention be limited to the details illustrated and described and it is intended by the appended claims to cover all modifications which fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for laying articles such as tubing, cable and the like below the surface of the ground, a ground penetrating and bore forming tool comprising an elongated generally cylindrical body, said body including a semi-cylindrical forward portion facing upwardly, said forward portion having a closed fiat top wall having a portion sloping downwardly and forwardly near the front end to facilitate the penetration of the ground, the rearward portion of said body lying in alinement with said forward portion and having its forward end closed and sloping downwardly toward said top wall of said forward portion, and a cutting blade rigidly attached to and extending from the top of said forward portion in front of said closed end of said rearward portion for securing said body to an article laying apparatus, the forward edge of said blade being the cutting edge whereby said blade and tool may be drawn through the ground below the surface thereof.

2. In an apparatus for laying articles such as tubing, cable and the like below the surface of the ground, a ground penetrating and article drawing tool comprising an elongated generally cylindrical body including oppositely facing substantially semi-cylindrical portions, the forward portion facing upwardly and the rearward portion downwardly, said forward portion having a closed fiat top wall with a portion thereof sloping downwardly and forwardly near the front end to facilitate the penetration of the ground, said rearward portion lying in alinement with said forward portion and having its forward end closed and sloping downwardly toward the top wall of said forward portion, means for attaching a tube or other article to the tool within said rearward portion and in alinement with said body, and a cutting blade rigidly attached to and extending from the top of said forward portion in front of said closed end of said rearward portion for securing said body to the article laying apparatus whereby said blade and tool may be drawn through the ground below the surface thereof.

3. A device for laying long articles such as tubing and cable below the surface of the ground comprising a carrier structure for movement over the surface of the ground, a cutting blade mounted on said structure and positioned to extend downwardly a predetermined distance below the surface of the ground, the sharp edge of said blade being pointed toward the front end of said structure, an elongated bore forming tool rigidly secured to said blade at the bottom end thereof with its longitudinal axis parallel to the ground contact plane of said structure and in the direction of movement of said carrier, said tool comprising a forward semi-cylindrical portion generally below said axis with its cylindrical wall facing downwardly and being closed along its upper side to provide a top wall having a downwardly and forwardly sloping ground entry portion at its front end, and a semi-cylindrical rear portion generally above said axis and having its cylindrical surface facing up, said cylindrical surfaces having their axes substantially in alinement, said rear portion having a downwardly and forwardly sloping wall connecting its cylindrical surface with the top wall of said forward portion and said blade being connected to said forward portion in front of said sloping wall of said rear portion.

4. A device for laying tubing, cable and the like below the surface of the ground comprising a frame including a pair of spaced parallel tubular runners each providing a major straight portion and end portions bent upwardly and inwardly and cooperating with the corresponding portions of the other runner to provide converging end portions, ground cutting blade means rigidly connected between the end portions of said runners at the rear thereof, means for attaching a drawing device to the front end of said runners substantially forwardly of said straight portions, and an elongated bore forming tool rigidly connected to the bottom end of said blade means with the front end thereof substantially directly below the rear ends of said straight portions, said tool comprising an elongated cylindrical body relieved along the upper portion of its forward section and the lower portion of its rearward section, said relieved forward portion having a downwardly and forwardly inclined front ground penetrating portion, said blade means being attached to the relieved upper portion of said front section and in front of the rear portion thereof, the length of said straight portions of said runners being at least four times the distance between the plane of the bottoms of said runners and the front end of said bore forming tool.

5. A device for laying tubing, cable and the like below the surface of the ground comprising a frame'including a pair of spaced parallel tubular runners each providing a major straight portion and end portions bent upwardly and inwardly and cooperating with the corresponding portions of the other runner to provide converging end 5 portions, a ground cutting blade rigidly connected between the end portions of said runners at the rear thereof, means for attaching a drawing device to the front end of said runners, an elongated bore forming tool rigidly connected to the bottom end of said blade with the front end thereof substantially directly below the rear ends of said straight portions, said tool comprising an elongated cylindrical body relieved along the upper portion of its forward section and the lower portion of its rearward section, said forward section having a closed top wall having a portion sloping downwardly and forwardly near the front end to facilitate penetration of the ground, said rearward section having its forward end closed and sloping downwardly toward said top wall of said forward section, said blade being attached to the upper portion of said front section and in front of the rear portion thereof, the length of said straight portions of said runners being at least four times the distance between the plane of the bottoms of said runners and the front end of said bore forming tool, and a coulter wheel mounted between said runners and having an axis normal to and above said runners and at a distance of substantially one-third the length of the runners from the rear ends of the straight portions, said coulter wheel being arranged in alinement with said blade for 30 breaking the ground ahead of the blade.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1929 France. 1930 Great Britain. 1933 Great Britain.

CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner.

JACOB SHAPIRO, Examiner. 

1. IN AN APPARATUS FOR LAYING ARTICLES SUCH AS TUBING CABLE AND THE LIKE BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND, A GROUND PENETRATING AND BORE FORMING TOOL COMPRISING AN ELONGATED GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL BODY, SAID BODY INCLUDING A SEMI-CYLINDRICAL FORWARD PORTION FACING UPWARDLY, SAID FORWARD PORTION HAVING A CLOSED FLAT TOP WALL HAVING A PORTION SLOPING DOWNWARDLY AND FORWARDLY NEAR THE FRONT END TO FACILITATE THE PENETRATION OF THE GROUND, THE REARWARD PORTION OF SAID BODY LYING IN ALINEMENT WITH SAID FORWARD PORTION AND HAVING ITS FORWARD END CLOSED AND SLOPING DOWNWARDLY TOWARD SAID TOP WALL OF SAID FORWARD PORTION, AND A CUTTING BLADE RIGIDLY ATTACHED TO AND EXTENDING FROM THE TOP OF SAID FORWARD PORTION IN FRONT OF SAID CLOSED END OF SAID REARWARD PORTION FOR SECURING SAID BODY TO AN ARTICLE LAYING APPARATUS, THE FORWARD EDGE OF SAID BLADE BEING THE CUTTING EDGE WHEREBY SAID BLADE AND TOOL MAY BE DRAWN THROUGH THE GROUND BELOW THE SURFACE THEREOF. 